Past Time Redux
by Panthres
Summary: Sixteen years, Harry Potter has been missing from England, and now that he's been found in Tokyo working as a spirit detective, is he really ready to come back? Or does the enigma named Harry have some problems that he isn't ready to solve? Harry/OC
1. Prelude

Disclaimer: The plot is my own, and cannon characters belong to J.K Rowling. I am not making money off this story, I just love writing, and playing with the HP Universe.XD

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Prelude

_Past Time: Lily's Bravery_

_October 31, 1980_

Fluttering, like a strip of velvet touched by moonlight-colored petals of lilies, the midnight sky glimmered with stars. The serene atmosphere bellied against the approaching evil that seemed to glide across the tops of the grass, leaving every living creature within a mile of it's body shuddering with terror, and an unrelenting chill.

But miles away, there was a woman, a young mother with silky long crimson locks that flowed down her back in soothing waves. Each slight curl that brushed against the soft pale skin of her face glimmered in the flickering candlelight of the master chamber.

Arms wrapped around herself, she let a frown flit across her face as her extraordinary emerald orbs glazed over with worry. What was it that made her feel like her heart was going to sink into her toes? What was this feeling that twisted and taunted every survival instinct she had?

Restless, she let her arms fall to both sides of her lithe body, her fingertips brushing against the silk of her thin strapped metallic silver night gown. For a brief moment, she fiddled with the white lace hem of the gown, wondering whether or not she could open the window without waking her husband.

She peeked over her shoulder, stepping lightly towards the window with bare feet.

Studying her husband's rather messy mop of luscious black hair peeking out above the blankets, she smiled a bit, her heart warming at the sight of him, so comfortably lost in slumber, before the smile disappeared and she glanced back at the window in front of her.

Slender digits skillfully, and silently unlatched the window, and as though the room itself was taking a deep breath, the panels flew open. Her eyes closed of their own accord as wind blew across her face, making her hair dance in the hefty breeze.

Paling slightly, she froze for a moment as her husband let out a soft groan, and the bedding rustled as he twisted in the sheets. The woman dared not move, lest her ever-observant lover realize she was not in bed.

It happened faster than she had ever thought, and she almost cursed herself for marrying the head of the Magical Defense Department in the Ministry of Magic. He must have noticed the cool sheets from her side of the bed as she heard him whisper her name softly.

"Lily?"

She didn't respond, hoping that he would succumb to sleep again, but she should've known that her silence would only make him more concerned instead of sleepy. He said her name again, but this time was louder, and she spied his head lifting from the pillows.

"Lils, where are you, baby?" he asked, his tone worried after she had failed to answer him once more. Lily sighed heavily, realizing it was a lost cause.

"I'm over here, James." she replied, her voice soft, and James sat up in bed, his tanned chest looked flatteringly sexy to her eyes as he scrubbed a hand over his face, and stepped out of bed.

Lily didn't watch her husband walking towards her; instead she turned her attention back to the brilliant night sky that twinkled with stars above her. She felt it when he stopped directly behind her, and she shivered slightly when his hands were placed onto her bare shoulders as he pulled her back into his chest.

"What's wrong, luv?" he whispered, his hazel eyes roaming over her bare neck, before he placed a kiss on the smooth skin there.

"I don't know James." Lily returned with a sigh as James continued holding her firmly to him, and placing soft kisses and nips on her shoulder all the way up her neck, then to her earlobe, causing her to moan softly as he nibbled at the sensitive flesh.

"It's just this feeling, I have deep down, that's telling me something's wrong," she breathed, feeling turned on despite her worry. The feeling of her husband's hardness pressing against her arse didn't help.

James paused for a second. "You're scared, aren't you?" he asked, and Lily nodded lightly. James didn't answer, but his hand slipped under her nightgown, and was not surprised to find she wore nothing beneath it.

As he raised his hands up, and let his palms brush against her nipples, Lily gasped at the sensations he brought out in her when she felt him apply pressure. A whimper escaped her, and James grinned.

"No matter what happens, Lily, we have a plan. Harry will be taken care of. We made sure of that." he told her firmly, as he hit all of his wife's erogenous zones, inadvertently putting emphasis behind his declaration.

"Oh, James…" Lily moaned, and there were no more words spoken, as James led his wife to their bed, forgetting about the open windows as he focused on making love to the woman of his dreams.

Nothing else mattered, despite both their fear for their son, they both knew that there was nothing that could be done. That night James made love to his wife for the last time, and no one, not even the two young parents could have known the horror that awaited them hours later.

--

Around eleven-thirty that night, both Lily and James were awakened by cries. They glanced at each other blearily for a moment, before they realized that it was their baby, Harry crying for them from his room.

At once, they both leapt out of bed, and stumbled into clothes, before hastening from the room, and down the hall. The door slammed open, and both rushed into the room, where a small one-year old toddler was standing in his crib. The mop of black hair barely reached over the side of the crib, and watery emerald orbs peeked out from between long lashes and the bars of the oak crib.

Harry's little body was covered in a baby blue footed sleeper, and you could hear the crinkling of his diaper as he tried to climb from the bed.

Lily and James shared an amused look at the baby's antics. "Da! Ma! Hu'gy!" the toddler cried, as his parents approached he lost his balance and fell back on his bum.

James leaned carelessly on the crib railing, as Lily picked the baby up out of the crib. "You're hungry, my little warrior?" she asked smiling, before planting a kiss on his incredibly soft black hair.

"Hu'gy! Yeah, ma, hu'gy!" he cried loudly, clapping his hands together, making Lily laugh, and James grin. "Oh he's a Potter alright," she said teasingly, while shaking her head. "Always hungry."

"No wonder Daddy's getting a tummy, huh, Harry?"

James growled indignantly as Harry giggled. "Da tubby!" Lily cracked a smile at the child, and the putout look on her husband's face.

"You know I love your tummy, James. It makes me feel better about myself."

"Hey now! I am still a sexy beast, okay? As I'm sure you noticed a little while ago," he stated smugly, making Lily blush as the three of them made their way out of Harry's bedroom, and downstairs into the kitchen.

Lily sat down with Harry, while James began preparing a bottle for the baby. It was when they heard a crash outside, that the content family realized that something was wrong.

With a sinking feeling in their stomachs, Lily and James looked at each other, before they flew into action just as their front door was blasted open, and James had to duck some flying debris.

"James!"

"Lily! Run, get Harry out of here!" Her husband shouted, as he drew his wand.

"But, James…" she protested, but one steely-eyed look from her husband, made her pick her son up, and turn away.

Harry didn't seem to understand what was going on, but he did cry out for his father, as Lily fled upstairs, and into the master bedroom. Her heart pounded in her ears as she heard curses and hexes being thrown. Explosions from downstairs played like a broken record inside her head as she kicked the door shut behind her, and ran to her bedside table.

There she pulled out a non-descript vial, and a small brown drawstring bag. Turning, Lily prayed to all deities out there that this work, and that their sacrifice wouldn't be for nothing. She cried when she heard James' scream of outrage and agony.

Then all went silent as she clutched the vial to her chest, and kissed her baby hard. "Oh, James, I love you." she choked out through her tears, her eyes firm.

This beast had killed her family, and now her husband, she'd be damned if he got her baby. She was prepared to die tonight, but Voldemort was going to suffer before she dropped dead.

The door was blasted open, and Lily shielded Harry from the debris that sliced into her back, but she refused to let him know how much pain she was in.

Standing, she faced him off, vial and bag in hand. "Voldemort." she hissed.

"Stand aside you silly girl, the only thing I want is that boy." he sneered, and Lily glared.

"No! Not my son. You can have me, but you can't have Harry." she told him fiercely, and Voldemort laughed.

"So be it," he said as he raised his wand. Lily snapped the vial, and poured it into her mouth, just as the evil monster intoned the killing curse, but Lily didn't care anymore. Her voice a scream, she flung out her hand, letting silvery powder fill the room, and yelled, "_Sarvitis Auflavare Voldemort_!"

The curse took effect just as a bolt of green light flew from his wand, and hit Lily in the chest. She didn't have to say anything, but the toddler could've sworn he heard his mother whisper, "I love you, Harry." as she died.

Voldemort howled in rage as his skin enflamed, and his eyes darkened. He could literally feel his innards from inhaling the powder, burning. Everything felt like it was on fire and he could feel blood dripping from rapidly opening skin burns, which caused the pain to increase.

He shakily raised his wand, and fired off the curse. _"Avada Kedavra."_

The evil being watched gleefully as the curse struck the toddler, but he was surprised when it rebounded off the baby, and came back towards him.

The last thing he heard was Harry Potter crying for his mother and father, before everything went black.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Look on first chapter.

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Chapter One

_**Past Time: Kyomari Takayume**_

_June 3, 1997_

A young man sat shrouded in wispy shadows of the dancing flames that played before him within the cemented fireplace. His wrist joint circled as he swished the amber liquid inside of the small glass in his hand absentmindedly.

His posture was relaxed as he sat stretched against his recliner, his feet upon the cherry wood coffee table and let his eyes remain closed. His whole countenance screamed that he had no worries in the world, but that theory was easily shattered as his tanned lids slid open.

Emerald green eyes stared at the fire, the flames reflected by his gorgeous orbs was a testament to his true state of mind, and only one word fit…unease.

He narrowed his gaze in frustration as the prospect of awaiting his boss' call caused him to become restless and then the feeling disappeared. He felt increasingly uneasy as the sound of his clock's constant ticks and tocks echoed through the nearly silent room, yet the sound of the fire's popping cinders sounded both so loud and soft.

It irritated him to no end, as the reason for his unease sat upon the brink of his thoughts and it had yet to fall; just constantly teetering, making him grit his teeth in anger as his answer slipped just beyond his reach.

He sighed in frustration as he blew strands of black hair that had fallen into his face away from his eyes. He lifted his unoccupied hand and raked it through his hair, causing the ends to flip out all around. It truly looked good on him, especially when it fell into his eyes slightly, but he hated his hair's outrageousness and the way it would fall into his line of vision exactly when he didn't want it too.

The amber liquid in his glass tasted bittersweet as it hit the back of his throat, and he vaguely remembered his first time drinking the stuff. At fourteen, he had almost cried with the sharp taste, but now he was used to it. It's stinging felt almost comforting in a way.

He watched as the vodka swished inside the glass as he moved stiffly, causing a few droplets to fall out. His eyes stared at the fire as his body twitched restlessly.

Rubbing his forehead tiredly, his hand brushed against the long ago forgotten scar upon his forehead…the lightning bolt scar that had been there for the past sixteen years and it clicked.

His whole body went tense with shock and the glass of Vodka slipped from his limp hand; Green eyes wide and his face pale, the man could feel the fear, anger, and pain as it crept up his spine, and he got lost in it, therefore he was not aware of the sound of glass shattering upon his wooden floor.

He should've known…the way his boss had sounded so resigned…defeated…and sad on the laptop communicator he owned. He knew, and now all he could do was wait to see what job assignment had for him and his friends.

Kyomari Takayume leaned back in a rather resigned manner, and awaited the call that would lead him back to his daunting past, the life he'd been forever trying to forget and the name…the name of Harry Potter.

--

Suiichi Metamino, better known as Kurama, was no idiot. As a matter of fact, he was a very intelligent young man with a demon side that was one of the greatest and most powerful thieves throughout history.

Kurama could feel the long red hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the feelings of unease he'd been receiving all afternoon made his body react in a rather restless manner. So he paced the length of his kitchen counter as he awaited his boss' call.

Something was off with Kyomari. He'd been so quiet and withdrawn lately, so unlike his usual self. Kurama sweat-dropped at the ludicrous thought…Kyo was always quiet and withdrawn around people he didn't trust.

_In fact he's quite the cold-hearted bastard, sometimes._ Thought Kurama with a rueful smile. Then glancing at the clock, he decided that sitting inside and worrying would do him no good.

He sighed heavily, before tightening the band of his kimono and stepping out of the door. A gust of wind blew across his face and he felt the presence of his long time friend behind him.

"About time you came out of that house, Kurama. I was becoming highly impatient," hissed a cold voice in a highly affronted manner.

"Excuse my tardiness, Hiei," replied Kurama. "As well as my supposed blatant disregard for your feelings." he stated sarcastically.

Hiei scoffed and glared at him as he jumped to his friend's side. His uncontrollable spiky black hair swayed and his muscles rippled beneath the tight blue singlet top he wore with black pants.

Hiei was always angry, but tonight he seemed a bit off. "What is bothering you, Hiei? You seem to be angrier than usual," said Kurama offhandedly.

Hiei scowled and twitched slightly. "My senses are going haywire. The atmosphere is foreboding and thick with tension, so I'm finding myself quite agitated. And the fact that I'm constantly surrounded by these imbeciles that call themselves spirit detectives isn't helping." said Hiei as he shifted uncomfortably.

Kurama gave his friend a calculating look, but just began walking towards the street corner in silence. Hiei followed him angrily.

"I wonder," mumbled Kurama as he tried to understand what was going on.

"No need to wonder anymore, Kurama." said the voice of a young male as he walked from the shadows. His black hair fell loosely around his tan face and he wore a white tee and jeans. Next to him was a tall lanky boy with orange hair whom was wearing a black tee, jeans and a jacket.

The young raven-haired boy lifted his deep brown eyes to look into Kurama's curious pale green ones. "Boss has called for us," he said, before nodding to Hiei in recognition.

"Yusuke, must you make such a grand entrance all the time?" said Hiei simply as he returned the nod. Yusuke Urameshi gave a mischievous grin in return, as Hiei glared at the lanky redhead beside him who'd grunted in response.

"Kurama." greeted Kuzuma Kuwabara in acknowledgement to the red-haired green-eyed boy.

"Why isn't it the dictionary definition of stupid?" grumbled Hiei sarcastically.

He turned his blue eyes to Hiei and said, "Shrimp."

Hiei growled and his hand twitched toward his sword, as he fought back the urge to simply kill the fool. As Hiei battled with himself, Kuwabara turned to Kurama. "Is he tetchier tonight or is it just me?" he asked stupidly.

Hiei twitched.

Yusuke rolled his eyes at the question as Kurama looked sheepish. "Kurama, can I please kill this incompetent fool right now and get it over with?" asked Hiei bitingly.

"Hey! Who are you calling an incompetent fool, shrimp?" asked Kuwabara sounding offended.

"Oh, he's a stupid ape as well," remarked Hiei icily. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes at him.

"What's shoved up your arse, a horse shoe?" he asked.

Hiei stared at him crossly.

Yusuke saw Hiei's hand move towards his sword and decided to break this up. "Has anyone seen Kyo?" he asked hastily. Hiei's hand froze an inch from the blade and Kuwabara stopped mid-sentence.

Kurama sighed in relief. "No, I haven't seen him all day. He's been disappearing off and on since we heard to expect a call from Koenma about a new job a couple of days ago." said Kurama thoughtfully.

Yusuke nodded. "Well, I daresay that its' time to go get him, especially now that the bickering couple over here has stopped bitching." he told them seriously, before turning and walking off in the direction of Kyo's apartment complex with the others following and Hiei growling in anger.

--

Kyo stared at the flickering flames of the fireplace in a sort of dazed fascination. His mind was being assaulted with dread. He knew for sure that he didn't want to go back, but...

He was ripped from his train of thoughts by the sound of small feet padding softly across the hardwood floor. Kyo spotted the glass lying shattered on the floor and he flicked his wrist, causing the broken glass and drink to disappear, just as the oak doors that led into the living room swung open silently.

"Daddy?" called a soft voice uncertainly.

A small girl with deep brown hair, and emerald orbs poked her head in. She couldn't have been any older than six. Her brown hair was tangled, and there were tear streaks that ran down from her bloodshot eyes. She was quivering slightly, and Kyo instantly went into '_father_' mode.

"I'm right here, Maria." he replied. The girl looked at him quickly, and then she was nothing but a small blur as she raced across the room and flew into his outstretched arms. He lifted the small child, and sat her onto his lap. Maria buried her face in his shoulder and her hands fisted tightly in his white collared shirt as her tears began falling once more.

"What's the matter?" he asked, already suspecting the answer, as the girl's sobbing grew stronger.

"It was the bad people, daddy," she whispered through her tears. "They said that you didn't want me anymore, and that you'd let them take me away." she wailed despairingly.

She lifted her head to look at him. "It's not true, is it?" she asked frantically.

Kyo looked at her in shock. "No, Mari." he said firmly, as he pulled the child back into his embrace. "I'll never stop wanting you, and I would never let the bad people have you. No one is going to take you away from me, and I promise that anyone who dares to try will not like the end result." he said fiercely.

Maria sniffed. "You promise?" she questioned shyly.

Kyo smiled at her, and replied, "I promise." Before placing a kiss on the top of the girl's head as she snuggled closer, enjoying the warmth of her adoptive father.

"Maria, I do have to go and see my boss tonight though, I promise to be back before morning," he added quickly, seeing the rising panic on the girl's face. She still looked uncertain.

"Don't worry. Not even I would leave you with Botan for too long." he said reassuringly.

Maria seemed to deflate with her father's assurance that he wasn't going to abandon her, and her bright green eyes drooped as the sleepiness began to take over again.

Outwardly, Kyo was calm, but on the inside he was seething. _Damn those people that did this to her._ He thought viciously, as he lulled the girl back to sleep.

He smiled slightly at the grip that the girl had on his shirt. For a six-year old, Maria was very strong. And somehow her strength had made Kyo fall hard for the child. She was the light of his life. It was her that he'd begun fighting for, and it was her that he protected. He wouldn't let anyone take his little girl from him. And anyone who dared to try would most likely not come out of the fight alive.

He closed his eyes and thought back to the day he'd met Maria.

_He was walking along the shadows when his sensitive ears picked up the shrill cry of a child. He swiveled around in that direction, and crept towards the house. When he arrived at the window, he looked in and was instantly disgusted at the sight before him._

_A small girl, who couldn't have been older than five was lying in the center of the floor being surrounded by a circle of men, and she let out a shrill scream every time they kicked her. _

_The men laughed at her pleas for them to stop, and kicked her even harder, making the girl scream louder. Kyo's eyes blazed with unrestrained anger, and this once, he let his fury take control._

_Before he could decipher what was happening he'd pulled his fist back and punched it through the window. The shattering of glass startled the men, and they turned towards him. Their eyes widened as a glowing Kyomari leapt through the window with two silver pistols in hand._

_He slaughtered them all mercilessly, and the young girl watched in shock and awe as he moved gracefully and fluidly across the room. He shot with deadly accuracy, and not one bullet was wasted. The little girl focused on him and winced at every shot that was fired._

_Finally the room went silent, and she stared at her dark angel as he quietly made his way towards her. He knelt down in front of her, and stared at her bruised form sadly._

"_Hi, my name's Kyomari. What's your name?" he asked as he studied the damage to the little girl's body._

"_Maria." she croaked, her throat hoarse from all the screaming she'd done earlier. For some inexplicable reason, she felt safe with this boy, even though she'd just watched him kill over thirteen men._

"_Well, Maria, how about you come with me, and I can get you healed? Or we can find your parents…" Kyo trailed off at the look on the girl's face. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, although he already suspected the answer._

"_They're dead." she replied quietly, and Kyo nodded. "Well then, you're coming with me." he said, before cautiously lifting the girl in his arms. The child blinked at him as he began treading carefully across the room. "How'd you get me healed so fast?" she asked curiously. _

_He chuckled lightly and looked down at her, his normally frosty green eyes, full of warmth and twinkling in amusement._

"_Do you believe in magic, Maria?" he asked._

"_No, I don't." she replied in monotone, and Kyo's eyes flashed before he relaxed again. _

"_Well, Maria, you will now." he said cryptically, before they disappeared in a soft flash of white._

He laughed softly as he remembered the look of disbelief and astonishment on the girl's face when they reappeared in his apartment.

Maria had changed a lot in the past year. She had her relapses into that submissive attitude, but they were few and far between. Most of the time she was a happy, lovable, and intelligent six-year old.

He looked down at her as he felt her shift closer. She had done the same thing every time she had a nightmare, or was simply afraid. He wrapped his arms around the girl in a protective manner, and she in turn curled her fingers deeper into his shirt.

--

Botan, a bubbly young woman with vibrant baby blue hair and bubblegum pink eyes, also known as the grim reaper or Yusuke's assistant, materialized right outside the doors of the living room where Kyo and Maria sat. She walked through the door and smiled at the sight of the six-year old curled up in her adoptive father's lap.

Botan and the rest of the Spirit Detectives were bemused as to why the girl had grown so attached to the boy, as he always had up this cold and indifferent mask around those he didn't trust.

Maria, out of all of them, could make Kyo smile or laugh easily, especially with her obsession over Hiei and her usual outrageous antics and demanding personality. He was close with the others, but the fact remained that his heart belonged to the brown-haired, emerald green-eyed girl. It was a mystery as to why all children liked Kyomari anyways.

The spirits of children always flocked the guy, and he too was bewildered as to why they seemed to love him so much, as most of the time he was the picture perfect definition of cold.

Botan knew from years of being around him that Kyo was a great guy with a big heart, and the cold front he put up, once you got to know him was slightly easy to see through. It was who he was, or rather who he tried to be.

She was so caught up in her thoughts, that she didn't notice the pair of green eyes watching her in amusement. "Are you going to stand there and daydream all night, Botan?" he asked causing her to jump. She blushed slightly, causing him to laugh.

_**He's so cute when he laughs…wait, WHAT?**_ She thought. Botan turned a deeper shade of red, as a couple of inappropriate thoughts about Kyomari popped into her mind. She shook her head, trying to dispel that train of thought.

"Sorry, Kyo. I was just caught up in my thoughts." she apologized sheepishly.

"I know." Was his reply.

"Well, you should probably get going. I mean, Koenma asked you to come in early, so he could speak to you alone," she told him.

Kyo's smile disappeared and his eyes hardened. "Right." he said shortly, as Botan took Maria from his arms. The girl's eyes snapped open and she sat up in a panic.

"Daddy?" she exclaimed loudly, as tears began to blur her vision.

Kyo snatched her from Botan's arms and held her close. Maria's arms gripped his neck, as she started sniffling again. "Calm down, Mari. I promise I'll be back by morning," he said soothingly, as Botan took the girl once more.

Maria reluctantly released her hold and allowed herself to be taken by Botan. "You promise, you'll be back?" she demanded uncertainly.

"Yes, I promise." he whispered as he shot Botan a look that clearly said, 'Call if you need me'. Botan nodded, and with a kiss to Maria's forehead, Kyo disappeared in a flash of white.

--

Kyomari appeared outside the large double doors that led to the large castle within, but this time instead of feeling at peace at the sight of the majestic palace, he felt tense. The soothing atmosphere that had once surrounded the castle had all but disappeared in his mind, and that scared him.

He breathed deeply, before shifting his face into an indifferent mask and walking stiffly through the doors, towards Koenma's office.

Once there, Kyo stared at the huge doors blankly. He was hesitating, he knew it, but the truth was he really didn't want to go in there. He was about to turn tail, and run when the sound of the doors opening caught his attention.

"Come in, Kyo." commanded the Prince seriously.

Kyomari stared at the young Lord seated behind his throne coldly, before stepping through, and the doors closed swiftly behind him.

Kyo's frosty gaze met the equally cold gaze of his boss, Prince Koenma of the Spirit World.

"I assume that by the look on your face, you have discovered why you are here?" asked Koenma nonchalantly as he steepled his fingers.

"Yes, I assume it has something to do with a certain deal of ours that you are about to break," replied Kyo shortly.

Koenma's face-hardened. "Remember your station, **detective**. I do _not_ accept such ignorant behavior from you Kyomari," he said with extra emphasis on detective.

"You are quite correct in assuming that I am going to have to break the promise we had of never sending you back to England. I have reason to believe that the world is endangered by this deranged dark lord, so I have decided…"

Kyo cut him off by growling, "You may be my boss, but you sure as hell are not my guardian."

"And what are you implying by that statement, Mr. Takayume?" asked Koenma angrily.

"I have a daughter to care for, I don't have time to try and save those flaky ingrates that live in the U.K. What goes on over there is their business, not mine."

The prince looked ready to combust, his eyes were narrowed, and his face was red as he snapped, "Kyomari, you will go to England. Or I shall have to do something drastic."

"Like what?" demanded Kyo furiously, his voice thunderous, but he stepped back when Koenma stood up behind his desk, slamming both his hands down on the desk.

"Like taking Maria away."

"Koenma, you have got to be kidding me."

"I am serious, Detective Takayume. If you do not comply, I will have her removed from her care, and you shall never see or hear from the girl again."

Kyomari froze, his eyes wide and shocked, looking as though he'd been slapped as he stared at his boss in outraged horror, and betrayal. Then his entire body tensed with terror and fury as he hissed, "You fucking bastard, Koenma."

"Kyomari, that is enough!" raged Koenma, whose eyes were icy and his gaze fierce as he glared down at his detective in anger. Kyo's lips pulled back into a snarl as his body glowed with pulsing energy. His body was reacting to the threat to Maria, and he was barely keeping himself in control, but Koenma remained unphased by the aura that surrounded his most powerful employee.

Kyo's unholy emerald eyes blazed with magic and fury as he glared at Koenma who looked regretful, but at the same time presented a challenge. One that Kyo would have to submit to, as he knew, without a doubt, that if anyone could take Maria away from him, it was Koenma.

"It's not your decision to make Koenma," said Kyo icily.

"I don't give a damn about who's decision it is, Detective, but what does matter is that I gave you a direct order, one you are to obey, whether you like it or not."

"This is my life, Koenma, and I'm not going to throw it away, by helping a bunch of bigots that turn against their supposed heroes the moment they do something they don't like! I refuse to showboat for the Spirit World, but I also won't go to England to flaunt the fact that I'm still alive and more powerful than they'd ever thought I would be!" Kyo retorted his voice adamant.

"No one said you had to return as Harry Potter, Kyo. Just go as you are now, and help those people. When you first came to me at twelve years old you cared about anyone and anybody, then you changed. What happened?" Koenma asked his voice tinged with both anger and sadness. "Why don't you care anymore, Kyo?"

"Is it because you found peace in the world? Well, too bad, you're about to get your ass kicked out of your comfort zone, because I will be damned if I let those people die, when we can help. No matter how much you don't like it!"

"IT'S MY FUCKING LIFE!" Kyo screamed, his aura flaring around the room, letting both magic and demon energy pulse and vibrate against the walls. Koenma's papers flew about the room, but the Prince of Spirit World, was not moved by this show of power and anger, rather it convinced him that he was doing the right thing.

"And it's not only your life on the line here, Kyomari. Soon, this will not just be the United Kingdom in deep shit! We are not invincible, and it will spread to us. This is the fate of the world, and believe it or not, you aren't the only one who lives in it," hissed Koenma.

Kyo stopped abruptly, as the smooth voice of his master floated into his mind repeating the words he'd always spoken.

_"You can't sacrifice the lives of ten, no matter if guilty or innocent, so you can save the one life that you love. Ten for one is not equal, but in truth one for ten is a better odd, than the latter."_

Kyo's face twisted in pain, before his mask of indifference appeared once more. Koenma watched as his body went stiff, and his head bowed. Kyo's eyes stared at the floor dully, and Koenma looked both defeated and remorseful as he sat back in his seat.

There was a loud bang on the door, and Yusuke's voice could be heard screaming, "Open up, pacifier breath."

Koenma was too weary too even scold Yusuke for talking to him as such, so he looked over at his favorite detective before opening the doors.

Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei all trooped inside looking disgruntled and slightly annoyed. "Hey, where's Kyo? We went to his apartment to bring him with us, but Botan said he had left already. I…" Yusuke trailed off as he caught sight of the stiff form of one of his best friends standing near the wall.

"Kyo?" he asked in concern. Hiei looked at Koenma with a raised eyebrow when Kyomari didn't respond. Yusuke frowned, and turned back to Koenma.

"What's going…?" Koenma stopped him with a raised hand.

"Don't worry about it right this moment, Yusuke. I have a lot to explain to you," said Koenma with a sigh.

He leaned forward in his seat, and steepled his fingers once more as he shot Kyomari's stock-still form a disparaging look, before focusing in on the four confused detectives in front of him.

"So boys, what do you know about the Wizarding World?"

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Reviews would be wonderful. What do you Past Time fans think about this story? And the changes made?


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Look on First Chapter.

REVIEW Please!

* * *

Chapter Two

_**Past Time: The History of a Hero**_

_June 3, 1997 (Night)_

The four boys looked confused.

"What's a wizarding world?" asked Kuwabara blankly.

Koenma sighed. "I guess I'll have to begin at the beginning." He said in slight exasperation.

He shifted into a more comfortable position and shot an uneasy look at Kyo's stiff form, before speaking.

"Three weeks ago, I received an urgent message from my father telling me, that I was to be receiving a visitor in the next few days. I phoned my dad in hopes of finding out what could be so important that he couldn't have told me in a message. Unfortunately, instead of receiving an answer, I got chewed out because apparently I was and I quote, '_Being too idiotic and stupid for my own good, and he was ashamed that I had not figured it out_ _yet.' _He hung up on me, and I nearly fainted from shock."

Koenma sighed. "That Thursday, after you all had left I found myself face to face with the current Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore. I assumed he was here to talk to me about business, but I never expected the words that came out of his mouth."

_Dumbledore's eyes stared hard at the young prince before him. Koenma could tell that he was trying to assess his trustworthiness, so he just looked back at the aging man, silently._

_Dumbledore breathed in deeply. "I am here for Harry."_

_Koenma's eyes widened, and he nearly fell off his throne. "What?" he asked._

"_Harry Potter has been missing for the past fourteen years, and I have finally been able to locate him here in Tokyo. I ask that you find him, and tell him to return home. His people need their savior." Stated the old man._

_Koenma stared at the obvious audacity this crack-pot old fool had within him, and the toddler prince sputtered with indignation._

"_Albus Dumbledore, while you may be the Leader of the Light in Britain, do NOT under any circumstances believe that you can waltz into my lands, and tell ME what to do." Stated an apoplectic prince firmly._

"You told him off?" Yusuke laughed loudly.

Koenma's lips twitched slightly. "Calm yourself, Mr. Urameshi. I have not finished yet." Said the prince, before he started his tale once more.

_Dumbledore stared at the red-faced prince before him, completely dumbstruck. It was obvious that he'd never been told off by anyone._

"_Mr. Koenma, I apologize for my rude disposition. It's just that I…" Koenma cut him off._

"_Your station is beneath me, Dumbledore. Only those I give specific permission to are allowed to address me so casually, and as I have NOT done so, you have no right to call me or speak to me with such simplicity. You WILL address me as Lord Koenma or you shall not address me at all!" Koenma raged._

_He was pissed as hell, not to mention feeling insulted._

_**The bastard really expected to be able to walk in and tell me what to do. As if that was going to happen. **__Koenma thought as he assessed the shock and disbelief on the old wizard's face. _

"_Yes…my Lord Koenma." He stuttered slightly. _

_Koenma said nothing to appease his nervousness. "I have come to ask you, your majesty, for help in assisting me on an endeavor that I have been trying to complete in the past few years. Please, my Lord, I beg of you to aid me in finding Harry Potter." Said Dumbledore slowly. _

"_You will not find Harry Potter here, Headmaster." Said Koenma simply._

_Dumbledore stared at him. "Well how do you know my Lord?" he asked._

"_Because Dumbledore, Harry Potter no longer exists." He stated, and inwardly laughed at the gob smacked expression on the wizard's face._

"_Now, my most esteemed guest…Get Out." Said Koenma and he called in the guards, who then carted the speechless Dumbledore from the room._

Yusuke was snickering loudly by the time Koenma finished, and Hiei was smirking slightly.

Kurama simply raised his eyebrows at Koenma and said, "Touché."

Kuwabara was staring at Koenma in awe, but Kyo hadn't moved except for the slightest tensing of his arms every time Dumbledore was mentioned.

"He didn't return until a couple of days later, and what he told me disturbed me greatly." Said Koenma solemnly, and the laughter died abruptly.

"_Koenma, sir, the wizard-man has returned to see you," said a low, rumbling voice over the intercom._

_Koenma looked up from his paperwork and frowned. He was agitated enough as it was, and he really didn't need to deal with Dumbledore today._

"_Why is he here, George? Ask him to state his reason for returning here, or be gone." hissed Koenma into the speaker. _

"_Yes, Lord Koenma, sir." came the reply. There was a murmur of conversation, followed by an undignified squeak._

"_Erm, sir, he says that its quite urgent, and could involve the deaths of hundreds of students if he wasn't heard out by you." said the ogre nervously._

_Koenma paled, and said, "Let him in, George."_

"_Yes, sir."_

_The small prince composed himself by taking a long drink of tea, and then stacking the paperwork into a neat pile on the side._

_He was just finishing when the doors opened and a flustered ogre named George came scuttling inside the office, followed by a pale headmaster._

_Dumbledore bowed. "Lord Koenma, sir, it is an honor to be in your presence once more."_

_Koenma nodded. "Leave us, George." he commanded, and the ogre nodded quickly before fleeing from the room, and closing the doors behind himself._

"_Speak." demanded the worried prince. _

_Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, " This past year at Hogwarts we've held a competition called the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Three children selected, all being seventeen were Victor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour, except there was a fourth wizard that was chosen. His name is Neville Longbottom, and he surprisingly made it to the third task. Him, and fellow competitor Cedric, were taken to a graveyard where a death eater viciously murdered Cedric, and Longbottom's blood was taken. Neville escaped death narrowly, because he'd port-keyed away after being hit by a reductor curse. He's now in the Hogwarts Infirmary recovering, but he has received some most grievous injuries." finished Dumbledore, who looked slightly smug to see Koenma staring at him in horror._

_Koenma, as prince of the Spirit World knew all too well what a death eater was, and whom they worked for._

"_Why was Neville's blood taken, Mr. Dumbledore?" asked Koenma, internally dreading the answer._

_Dumbledore sighed. "The blood was used for a very dark ritual used to restore one's spirit to a body. And well, Lord Koenma, the thing I've been dreading for years has finally come to pass."_

"_And what is that, Mr. Dumbledore?" demanded Koenma shakily._

_Dumbledore stared at him piercingly. "I'm sorry to say, milord, that Lord Voldemort has returned."_

_Koenma turned sheet white._

Kurama looked horrorstruck. Kuwabara and Yusuke looked confused and slightly alarmed. Hiei was growling fiercely in the back of his throat.

Kyomari was so still that he looked as if he wasn't breathing. "Alright, who's this Voldywart person, and what is a Tri-Wizard Tournament?" asked Yusuke cautiously.

Koenma's lips twitched slightly at the mispronunciation, but he began speaking anyways.

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament is an old competition that began way back into wizarding history, nearing the era of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It was created to test the strength, the loyalty, and the courage of a witch or wizard back then, but it soon turned into a rowdy spectator sport that was used to see who could win eternal glory at the price of his or her own life." said Koenma grimly.

"This is the first time in almost fifty years that this tournament has been brought back. The last time was in the year 1945, where three boys competed. Their names were David Ulliegh, Oliver Silverstine, and…Tom Riddle."

"David's father, Alfred Ulliegh was found dead in his home three days before the tournament. David was horrified as he was the last of the Ulliegh line, now that both his father and younger brother, Ashton Ulliegh were dead. His eleven-year-old brother had died the year before in a freakish broom accident at Hogwarts. Now, that he was in the tournament, David knew that there was a possibility that he would die, and with him his bloodline would die out as well. But he knew that if he won, he would win eternal glory for all his family, so he took the chance. David made it to the second task, before he was 'accidentally' killed in battle with a flying axe. No one suspected any foul play, that is until the next task, when Oliver Silverstine was killed."

Koenma paused and took a sip of water.

"Oliver was the son of Fraya Silverstine, whom had high ranking in Wizarding Hierarchy. Her mother was known for having the purest blood known to the world, and Fraya was the famous heir of Ravenclaw. Her body was found mutilated and hanging from the ceiling of her bedroom by chains, about the same time that David's father was found."

Koenma sighed at the horrorstruck looks he was receiving. _**If only they knew.**_ He thought.

"Oliver was an only child, as his mother had complications during birth and could no longer have any children. His father left his mother because of her infertility. As the years passed, Fraya became bitter towards men, and inadvertently her son. She both loved and hated Oliver, so she mostly ignored his presence when he was around. Oliver soon grew desperate for love, so he entered the tournament, hoping that if he won, his mother would love him once again. He never got the chance to find out because she was murdered only days before he was to compete, and he never got the chance to grieve as he too died soon after. During the third task, he was killed. His body sliced in half by a well timed and well aimed cutting curse," said Koenma softly.

Yusuke was staring at him wide-eyed, and Kuwabara was pale and absently rubbing his neck. Hiei was stiff as a board, and Kurama was just staring straight ahead looking both thoughtful and a bit disturbed.

Kyomari had made no move.

"Tom Riddle won the tournament by default, and by that time everyone was suspecting foul play from the boy. That is until Tom's father was found murdered in his home. To everyone around him, the boy seemed to go blank, and everyone felt sorry for him. They didn't know it, but they would soon regret ever caring about Tom Riddle, as he was the one who killed his father. After Tom was declared glorious and received his award, the Wizenmagot, which is like a board of directors for the Wizarding Government converged, and decided to ban the tournament from schools. Not one wizard, not even the great and mighty Albus Dumbledore realized that Tom Riddle, in less than two years, had effectively ended the bloodlines of both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff by taking the lives of the remaining heirs." said Koenma sadly.

Yusuke stared up at his boss crossly. "What the hell is a Hufflepuff?"

Koenma shook his head. "I'll get to that in a moment, Yusuke. Tom had found out about David and Oliver's lineage by performing a forbidden art called Legimency. What Tom didn't know was that when an heir of one as powerful as the four founders, any abilities they may have received go to the next recipient. Not the next of kin."

"The four founders are the founders of one of the most prominent magical schools in wizarding history called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Yusuke looked at him in disbelief. "Who in their right mind would name their school after a piggy pimple?"

Kurama coughed to hide a laugh, and Koenma snorted lightly. No one noticed, but a tiny smile appeared on Kyo's face for a moment before it disappeared.

"Anyways, Godric Gryffindor was the first of the four. He represented strength and courage. The second was Rowena Ravenclaw, and she represented intelligence and wit. The third was Helga Hufflepuff, who represented kindness and loyalty. And the fourth was Salazaar Slytherin, who represented cunning and ambition. If any were to look closely at a school banner that was made before 1945, you would see in small calligraphic numerals written in Greek Century symbols on each one imbedded in the house mascots."

"In Ravenclaw's banner, the numbers are written in a deep maroon color, hidden in the griffin's mane. It says, _I__-H__-R__"_" Which translates into 3-1-4. Hufflepuff's banner has a picturesque photo of a badger with deep brown fur, and the numbers are written in a dark brown that's close to black, hidden on the hair of the badger's ear. It says, _E-H-R"_" Which translates into 2-1-4 and Slytherin hid his on the scales of his serpent.

It says, _"E__-I__-H__"_ Which is 2-3-1. These numbers state in which the order of recipients the power transfers to, and it means that if the heir of Ravenclaw would die, his power would be bestowed to the next in line which would be 3 or Hufflepuff, but since Hufflepuff's heir was killed as well, both sets of powers went to the heir of Gryffindor since he was stated before Slytherin. And at that time, the heir of Gryffindor was none other than Charles Potter III, Harry Potter's grandfather."

Yusuke stood there, his mind working hard to understand, while Kuwabara looked as though he was suffering a brain overload. Kurama was looking intrigued by the cunning of these people, and Hiei's expression said nothing.

Everyone stood in silence for a while; trying to process all the information Koenma had given them.

Koenma took another sip of water from his cup. "I know this is a lot to take in, but please continue to bear with me," he said softly, but managed to pull everyone from his thoughts.

He made sure that he had their attention before speaking.

"Charles was scared when he'd found out what had happened to him, as he'd been awoken by a strong influx of magic searing through him. But he, with the help of his wife Serena, managed to control his new powers, even though he'd just had a newborn son named James. Charles knew that when he died the powers would transfer to James, so he trained his son hard, and made him promise to never reveal anything about his true heritage with the exception of his wife."

"James grew up and married a lovely woman named Lily Evans, and not long after his parents were murdered by Tom Riddle, who is now known as Lord Voldemort. James never had the chance to recover from the loss of his parents, because not a year later, Voldemort murdered him and Lily as well. Before they died, James and Lily had a son named Harry James Potter, who received the powers at age one, before he was able to spell his own name. They died on October 31, 1981, and Harry was found by a man named Sito Takayume."

Koenma didn't have to wait long for their reactions.

Sharp intakes of breath were heard, and Hiei's eyes narrowed as the four boys swiveled to stare at the stiff form in the corner.

"Yes boys, Kyomari Takayume is Harry James Potter." They spoke nothing, but the shocked and disbelieving looks on their faces said it all.

Kyo's head lifted and he looked at the four gob smacked people before him and smiled dryly.

"Hi guys." he whispered softly.

And then, all hell broke loose.

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	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: On first chapter.

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Chapter Three

_**Past Time: A Son, A Father, and A Friend**_

_June 3, 1997 (Night)- June 4, 1997_

"What the hell do you mean by 'Hi guys'?" hollered a furious Yusuke.

"We've been here for the last hour learning about all this gore and shit, then we find out that all this centers around you, and the most you can say is 'Hi guys'?" he fumed with disbelief and indignation on his face.

"What do you want me to say, Yusuke?" asked Kyo quietly.

"I want to know why you didn't tell us! I thought you trusted us, and now I found out that you have a whole separate identity," snapped Yusuke angrily.

Kyo looked at him with pain-filled eyes. "They didn't want me." he replied.

Yusuke stopped his mental rant and looked at Kyo in confusion. "What do you mean? Dumbledore came here twice looking for you, and he said that he's been searching for you for years." stated Yusuke.

Kyomari's look darkened instantly. "That fool did not come here for me, Yusuke. He came here for a savior," he growled angrily.

Yusuke and the others simply stared, causing Kyo to sigh. "There's a difference between searching for someone because you care for them, and not because of what or who they are to you. To the Wizarding World and Albus Dumbledore, I am their savior, the Boy-Who-Lived, not Harry Potter."

Kurama looked at him in a saddened way, as he finally understood what Kyo was trying to say. "You don't want to be their savior, do you?" he asked quietly.

Kyo met his eyes. "No, I don't. I want to be appreciated for being me, not the Boy-Who-Lived." he replied softly.

"So…err…Harry…" Yusuke trailed off at the ominous glare he was receiving from the green-eyed boy.

"Never…call me by that asinine name if you wish to live to your sixteenth birthday." he threatened darkly.

Yusuke laughed nervously, and tried to subtly inch behind Kurama, who in turn took a large step away. Yusuke glared at the smug redhead and gulped as he spotted Kyo's piercing glare. "Sorry Kyo." he muttered.

Kyomari smirked slightly, causing Yusuke to forget his fear and narrow his eyes.

Before Yusuke could get a word out, Hiei spoke up. "Why do they call you the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Voldemort knew that the Potters were powerful, so he was planning to kill them anyways, but the main reason he was so panicked was because he'd learned of a prophecy spoken by the seer, Sybil Trelawny, from his most loyal death eater, Severus Snape. Snape reported that he'd overheard the prophecy that said there would be a child born on July 31st who had the power to defeat the Dark Lord. So he went to the Potter's hiding place after learning they had a son born that day. He killed both James and Lily, before turning his wand on Harry with intent to kill him, but it backfired. The explosion destroyed his body, but didn't destroy his soul. Harry lived, but received a curse scar above his right eye, along with Voldemort's ability to speak Parseltongue."

"I don't even want to know what that is." mumbled Yusuke disgustedly, making Kurama grin slightly. Kuwabara was silent as he tried to process everything.

"So that's why Voldie is after Har…erm…I mean Kyo?" asked Yusuke. Koenma nodded.

"But that doesn't explain why you never told us your true identity, Kyo." said Yusuke, causing Kyomari to sigh tiredly.

"That's because I didn't know myself until I was eight years old, when Sito told me," replied Kyo. Kurama and Yusuke stared at him incredulously, and Hiei raised an eyebrow.

"Sito was my master, but he was also my father. So it was important that he didn't tell me until he felt I was ready to handle it, otherwise he'd have told me sooner. But the fact was that I wasn't nearly as ready for it as he thought." said Kyo.

"What do you mean?" asked Kuwabara, speaking up for the first time that night.

Kyo looked pained as he began explaining.

"_Master, you cannot be serious," said an exasperated eight-year old in a flat voice. Kyomari refused to believe this; it just couldn't be true. He'd never felt so betrayed, and it was because his master was lying to him._

"_Kyomari, I am speaking as your father, not your master. What I've told you is the truth. You are not my biological son, Kyo. You are the last Potter, and that is truth. Your parents died October 31, 1981, and I found you after," said Sito Takayume firmly._

"_No! I won't believe!" yelled Kyo as he stood up, his face flushed in rage._

"_Kyo! Listen to me! I am not your biological father!" stated Sito as Kyo began to hyperventilate._

"_It's true, then! I got my real parents killed the same way Mother Marima-chan was killed. It's my fault! All because of me!" screamed Kyo as his eyes welled with tears._

_He turned to run away from the room, but something grabbed his arm, and forcefully spun him around. "Don't you dare say such things, Kyo-san!" hollered Sito._

"_No! It's true! It's all my fault they're dead! No one should care about me! All I do is make people die!!" sobbed Kyo as anguished tears splashed onto his cheeks._

_Sito's royal blue eyes darkened with fury. "That's not true!"_

"_Yes, it is!"_

"_Your mother, Marima, died to protect you!" _

"_So did my other mum!" screamed the hysterical child._

"_Their deaths were not your fault, Kyomari Takayume. Now, say it," ordered Sito._

"_No!!"_

"_Say it, Kyo," commanded Sito._

"_It wasn't my fault," whispered Kyo._

"_Louder!"_

"_It wasn't my fault," said the child._

"_Louder!" roared Sito._

"_IT WASN'T MY FAULT!!" yelled Kyo, before collapsing into his father's arms sobbing heavily._

_Sito pulled the shaking boy close. "Never again blame yourself for the death of someone who gave their life for yours. If you can't live for you, then live for them and honor their sacrifices by being the best you can be, and never run away from the pain of their loss." _

_He kissed the child's hair, lovingly. "You may not be my biological son, Kyomari, but you are my son, and no one will change that, no matter what happens."_

By the end of the retelling, Kyo's face was wet with tears and his eyes were burning ferociously with the pain of his loss.

Yusuke looked slightly ashamed and he lowered his eyes to the floor, angry with himself for doubting Kyo.

Koenma coughed pointedly. "I'm sorry to ask this Kyo, but what exactly happened with Marima? Her death profile was blank and she refused to speak of it before I sent her off."

Kyo sighed sadly and his eyes darkened with emotional agony.

"_Mum!" screamed an excited seven year old as he ran towards the woman who stood with long wavy brown hair and glorious violet eyes._

_Her smile stretched across her beautiful face, making her seem more vivacious than before as she watched her handsome little boy race into her outstretched arms._

_She lifted him and twirled around in circles, making him beam at her, and she laughed musically as she settled him onto her hip. _

"_I missed you, mum." said Kyo shyly. Marima grinned at her son warmly. "You did?" she exclaimed in mock surprise. Kyo huffed. "Fine, I missed you." he told her shortly._

_She smiled. "Awww! I'm happy you missed your mum so much. Now my little warrior, where is my kiss, Kyo-son?" _

_Kyo flushed and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek. Marima pretended to become flustered. _

"_Oh dear me!" she said dramatically, "Such a handsome young man. I believe that I feel faint," she said breathily as she fanned herself playfully._

_Kyo burst out laughing at his mother's ridiculous antics, causing Marima to smile, even if only a little sadly. _

"_Will you put down my son, woman? I don't want him to turn into a wimp, or heaven forbid, a mama's boy," teased Sito as he walked from the shadows of the porch._

_Marima huffed and sat the grinning boy on the ground and he ran farther away from them as she turned to Sito. She greeted her husband with an, "I love you too, Sito, just as much as I love my little warrior."_

_Then she kissed him, laughing against his lips as he lifted her into his arms._

_Kyo gagged. Sito put Marima back down and laughed as his wife turned a mischievous eye to their son. "One day, my son, you'll be doing that too."_

_Kyo's nose wrinkled in disgust and he turned his nose up at her. _

_She laughed, but it died abruptly as her body stiffened. Her head snapped towards her son, and she raced towards him leaving a bewildered and sad husband behind. _

_The woman used all of her weight to knock the boy down as a sharp poisoned blade sailed towards him._

_Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the blade dug into Marima's chest cavity. She screamed in pain, before she dropped to the ground, dead. Kyo stared at his mother's dead body, her violet eyes now a deep purple with death, and her face peaceful and accepting but pale with the loss of oxygen, that had been only moments before filled with life and laughter._

_Sito was frozen where he stood as he stared blankly at the body of his wife for almost thirty-seven years. He snapped out of it when he saw his son staring at her, horrified and shaking. He stepped towards his son, but froze when Kyo let out a bloodcurdling scream._

_Something inside Kyo snapped and a vivacious aura of silver, black, and a shimmering purple swirled around him, and exploded ten miles outward causing Sito to run and throw himself over Marima's body._

_His son was breathing raggedly; magic, demonic energy, and spirit power pulsed around him in waves. The boy continued to scream with tears pouring down his face as his powers unlocked themselves in all of his rage._

_The stars in the sky were shimmering madly, and the moon was a blinding silver. Winds picked up, fires crackled madly, the earth rumbled, and water churned furiously. _

_Sito had never seen this much power, and in essence, he was both awed and terrified by it. "Kyomari!!" he screamed._

_But, only after his voice had been exhausted, did the boy collapse weakly, tears of pain still streaming down his face. _

"She had just come home, and I lost her. I couldn't save her at the time." croaked Kyo. The others looked distinctly horrified, even Hiei looked uncomfortable.

"I understand now. I'm sorry I asked." said Koenma remorsefully.

"No." Kyo shook his head. "Marima Monreski was a wonderful woman. She died unfashionably, but with honor and dignity that only a mother could have. And that should never and won't ever be forgotten," said Kyo firmly.

Koenma nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but a loud beep came from the large video screen indicating that someone was on the line. He pressed a button and Botan's face appeared. She looked hysterical.

"Kyomari, what have you done to the child?" she demanded shrilly.

Kyo shot her a confused look and he stared at her blankly.

"Huh?" he asked eloquently.

"Maria! The little demon is bouncing around anxiously. She's upset that you're not back yet and is taking it out on me. What are you doing over there? It's almost midnight," snapped Botan.

Every eye in the room widened. "Midnight?" exclaimed Kyo disbelievingly.

"Holy shit, my mother's going to have my ass served with rice on a silver platter," cursed Yusuke.

Kuwabara looked pale. "You?" he squeaked. "My sister's going to kill me."

"All this explaining and you haven't given us the assignment." said Hiei bluntly.

Koenma looked dumbfounded and said, "Right, I'll get to that."

They were interrupted by the sounds of a scuffle. "Give it to me, Botan!" screamed a child's voice. "I want to see my daddy."

"Maria, stop! Ow! THAT HURT! Hey! Get back here with that!" screeched Botan as the communicator was snatched from her hands.

Mari's teary face appeared and she looked at Kyo sharply. "Where are you? Why aren't you here? Are you coming back?" she asked frantically.

"Mari! I'm coming home in fifteen minutes! I promise."

Maria looked skeptical. "Look, if I'm not there in fifteen minutes, you can play with Hiei." he promised her, completely ignoring the outraged 'HEY!!' from the other side of the room.

"Okay." she said sulkily, and threw the mirror at Botan, who then appeared.

"You better be here, Kyo, or it'll be your head."

"She's not bad, Botan. She's just scared and upset. I'll take care of it when I get home." he told her honestly.

Botan simply sighed and clicked off.

Kyo sighed, and then turned a steely eye to Koenma who said quickly, "You'll be going to Hogwarts on September 1st. You have land and a large mansion that I've purchased near the school. There, you'll be like a security team for the students."

"What about my daughter?" asked Kyo icily, remembering their earlier conversation.

"She'll be going with you." Was the immediate response.

Kyomari nodded with finality. "Then we have nothing more to discuss tonight. Goodnight all." he said, before swiftly walking from the room.

--

Kyo reappeared inside of his apartment and glancing around curiously, he noticed that neither Botan, nor Maria were inside the room.

He turned swiftly as the oak door of the living room swung open. A few seconds later, Maria walked in huffily muttering under her breath. She froze in her tracks as she caught sight of her father standing there watching her bemusedly.

Her green eyes lit up with happiness, and her anger was instantly forgotten as a bright smile stretched across her face.

"DADDY!!" she screamed joyfully as she bolted across the room as fast as her little legs could carry her. Kyo stooped down and scooped the small child into his arms and swung her around in circles causing the girl to squeal in laughter.

He stopped for a second when he remembered when his mother had done the exact thing to him when he was her age. He shook of the thought and grinned at her when he saw her flushed cheeks from laughing so hard. "And why are you not in bed, young lady?"

Maria blushed. "Sorry daddy, but I couldn't go back to sleep." she apologized sheepishly. Kyo shook his head at her in amusement.

"You need sleep, Maria. You're not old enough to stay up this late," he told her sternly, and the child looked properly chastised. He smiled slightly and attacked her tummy with his fingers, causing her to collapse in a fit of giggles as he tickled her.

"Daddy, stop!" she squealed, and Kyo stopped. "But, I'm happy you came back." she told him softly.

"I told you that I would." he replied as he settled her in his arms.

She pouted slightly. "But, I was kind of hoping to play with Hiei." she said wistfully.

Kyo raised an eyebrow at his daughter's dreamy expression. "Why are you so obsessed with Hiei, anyways?" he asked suspiciously.

Maria blushed furiously as she avoided her father's knowing eyes. "Because…erm…I'm amazed by his shortness," she said, stuttering at the beginning slightly.

Kyo snorted in both laughter and disbelief. "Well, I'm sure he'll appreciate your loving comment about his height."

When Maria didn't respond, he looked down to see the girl snoring softly on his shoulder. Kyo shook his head in amusement, and looked up to see Botan glaring at him tiredly.

"Now the little imp decides to go to sleep. I tell her to go to bed, and she attacks me," stated Botan indignantly.

"Go get some rest, Botan. I can handle it from here." he said softly.

"Well, it's quite easy to do when she's asleep," whispered Botan coolly.

Kyomari smiled at her dazzlingly, and Botan disappeared in a hurry, leaving behind a grinning Kyo.

He shifted the sleeping girl in his arms and walked upstairs towards her bedroom. He tucked her into bed and kissed her softly on the top of her head, before quietly leaving. Kyo shut the door behind him and rubbed a hand over his face tiredly as he trudged down the hall towards his room.

Once inside he walked into his bathroom and showered, letting the hot water wash away the tension of his body. He got out; dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a black tee shirt, brushed his teeth, and dragged his fingers through his damp hair, drying it with magic.

He yawned and went into his bedroom, not sparing a moment as he climbed into his king sized bed.

Kyo had just closed his eyes when he heard his door open and close softly, and the small pattering of feet stopped right behind him.

"Daddy? Are you awake?" whispered Maria as she stood on her tiptoes to be able to get her eyes over the side of the bed. He rolled over and looked at her pleading eyes that he could never say no to. Then he simply sat up and lifted her onto the bed.

She crawled onto his lap and buried her face in his shoulder. "Maria, what's the matter? You've been like this for the past three days. It's so unlike you to be so clingy." he asked her softly in concern.

She mumbled something indistinguishable into his shoulder.

"What was that?" he asked now truly concerned.

She lifted her head, but didn't meet his eyes. "Today is my mommy's birthday. I remember cause it was the day my daddy started doing bad things to me. She left me with daddy, and never came back. She didn't say nothing to me before she left. I didn't like daddy, he was always mean and would say bad things about mommy. And I loved mommy. I was scared that since I loved you, you would leave me like mommy did." she said sniffling.

Kyo's eyes softened and he used the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears. "I won't leave you, Maria. And if I do, I promise to fight both hell and high water to come back to you." he promised her sincerely.

Maria nodded and snuggled close. She was asleep within minutes, but this time there was a small smile on her cute face. Kyo laid her down beside him, and tucked her in.

He sighed. "What in God's name did I get myself into?" he asked himself wearily, before closing his eyes, finally allowing his physical and mental exhaustion to take over and send him into a slightly restless sleep.

--

Kyo awoke to the sound of his alarm beeping annoyingly next to his head. He groaned tiredly as he read the glittering numbers on the digital face of the electric clock. It was four in the morning, and his sleep wasn't exactly the most restful.

He heard a shifting beside him and he hurriedly turned off the alarm as he sat up. Kyo rolled out of bed and slouched across the bedroom towards his bathroom slowly. He brushed his teeth and scrubbed his face with soap and water. Kyo toweled off and dragged his fingers through his hair making it look somewhat presentable, before stripping off his tee shirt as he walked into the wardrobe.

He pulled open a drawer full of plain white tee shirts and slipped one on as he took off the pajama pants and replaced them with a pair of blue running shorts. He finished by pulling on white ankle socks, and blue, silver, and white running shoes.

Unlike the others, Kyo liked to workout as he listened to the sounds of early morning. He loved hearing the world awaken.

He walked from his wardrobe quietly and looked at the sleeping child on his bed. She looked so cute sprawled across his pillows, especially since her small frame against that of the bed; it looked as though she were being swallowed whole. His lips twitched as he walked over, and placed a small kiss on the girl's forehead after pushing her bangs back.

"Maria." he whispered as he knelt down beside the bed at eye level.

Her emerald eyes opened and she peered at him sleepily. "Daddy?" she asked tiredly as she rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry for waking you, but I have to go train. I wanted you to know not to let anyone inside unless they can teleport here, okay?" he asked softly.

"Okay daddy."

Kyo kissed her again on the forehead, and said, "Go back to sleep. I'll be back later."

She nodded and said, "Love you, daddy."

"Love you too, Mari." he replied and the girl drifted off. Kyo watched her for a moment, before standing and looking at the clock. It read four fifteen. He turned and left the room, closing the door silently.

He walked from the apartment and onto the sidewalks. He took a deep breath and stretched before taking off at a steady jog.

After five miles he stopped, and stretched out his muscles, before setting down the dirt path road to his right of him, towards a forest. He trekked through the trees quickly, and soon reached a large clearing with a cabin near the crystal blue lake at the far end. As he walked towards the cabin and felt the wave of magic signaling that the time lengthening spell had been triggered, he remembered the first his master, Sito had brought him here.

"_What are we doing here?" asked an excited six- year old as they entered the clearing. Sito smiled at the boy's enthusiasm for training to begin._

"_This is your training area, Kyo." he replied. The boy's eyes lit up and he looked at his mother expectantly._

"_Every morning you'll be here at four in the morning. You will have a five-mile run, and then you are to do two hundred pushups, six hundred sit-ups, and three hundred pull-ups. Then you're to go through your sword katas for every style, martial arts practice for every style, and range practice with daggers, guns, and archery. After that you'll do twenty laps in the lake."_

_When he stopped talking, Kyo was staring at him open-mouthed._

"_All…of them?" he squeaked._

_Sito smirked. "Yes, all of them, and you have until eight in the morning to finish." Kyo's eyes were the size of saucers and his master merely laughed heartily. "Four hours?"_

"_No, Kyo. Every hour spent inside this clearing is twenty minutes outside, because as soon as you walk past the line of trees you enter the time spell. That means four hours outside equals twelve hours inside here which gives you plenty of time to finish your work."_

_Kyo nodded reluctantly in acceptance, "But…what about my magic training?" asked the child._

"_I never said I was finished Kyo. After your exercises, you will study all subjects Muggle, then Magical, then Subjects on the Spirit world. I already have planned out your assignments until your nineteenth birthday. So even if I weren't here to instruct you, you are to still look in the book of assignments and follow my lessons. The library I gave to you is not there for fashion purposes, my son. You will have two hours of dueling before you leave and one hour of meditation as the last thing, before your swim and another hour before bed." _

"_If you ever get the chance to study dancing, and other arts, I suggest you do so, my son. I can sense a great potential within you, and a gracefulness that you have yet to see or believe you possess, and I want you to nurture it into something your enemies will fear, and your allies will respect. This is your life, Kyo. Learn to make it work, but never forget to live."_

Kyo shook the thoughts away and sighed, before setting to his workout that had been followed as his master had showed him at the age of six.

He'd always been so successful in his lessons, until his master died. He shook his head to clear that thought away. There was no way he was going to think about that right now.

He sighed in resignation, before he put his thoughts to rest and concentrated solely on his workout.

Twelve hours later (clearing time, in the real world it's only been four)…

Kyo teleported home from the clearing after taking a nice refreshing shower; brushing his teeth again, scrubbing his face and shaving. He was dressed in a pair of dark denim faded jeans, a rustic red shirt over a light gray long-sleeved shirt and wore white tennis. Kyo stepped into his bedroom and looked over at the sleeping child on his bed with a mischievous grin.

He walked over and poked her in the side.

Maria twitched, and rolled over.

He poked her again, causing the girl to blearily open her eyes. "Go 'way, daddy. I'm sleepin'." she mumbled tiredly, before dozing off again.

"Well little miss, that's your fault for not going to bed last night. Now, you need to get up." he said sternly.

Maria turned her back to him, and said, "No."

Kyo gave an exasperated sigh and wiggled his fingers threateningly. "Move or you'll regret it Maria Anne Takayume," he warned.

"No." she replied stubbornly, refusing to open her eyes.

Kyo rolled his eyes and said, "You asked for it." Then he tickled her, causing the girl to shriek with laughter.

"Daddy!" she squealed in between peels of laughter.

"Are you awake now?" he asked teasingly.

He was met with a surprisingly firm, "No." before she collapsed into giggles again.

"Well then, its time for Plan B." he commented, before hefting the girl from the bed and tossing her over his shoulder.

"DADDY!!" she screamed in a futile attempt to get him to put her down as he marched from the room.

"What was that? I didn't hear anything, after all you're asleep." he said in mock seriousness.

"Daddy!" she shrieked as he opened her bedroom door, and galloped inside. He tossed her on the bed, and she laughed loudly.

"Alright, you know how it works. Bath first, brush teeth, wash face, get dressed in clothes we picked out last night, and come down stairs so I can help you with your hair while I make breakfast." said Kyo.

Maria nodded, as she was still breathless from the laughing.

"So what do you want for breakfast?" he asked, as he wandlessly started the taps in the bathroom.

"Eggs, French toast, and bacon, please." said Maria promptly. Kyo nodded, and then remembered something. "Don't forget to take your vitamin potion, Mari. God knows what Genkai will do to me if I let you miss another one. Never thought I'd see the day she'd like a little kid, much less demand I take good care of you," he said in amusement.

Kyo didn't know what it was, but Maria had impressed Genkai in a way no other could. It was simply incredible that the old bat as Yusuke called her liked Maria so much. His daughter trying to shoo him from the room interrupted him from his musings.

"Go 'way, daddy. You can't see me naked. It's not right," said Maria seriously.

"Yeah, that's right, Mari. NO BOY can see you naked until when…?" he asked.

"Until we're married and he has your approval, and has been castragatededed," she said with a serious face, causing her father to grin.

"I think you mean castrated, luv. And that's right." he said, before leaving the room chuckling.

Soon he was whipping up a first-class American breakfast. It was well known in Tokyo that Kyo and Maria didn't go by Japanese customs, but because they show so much respect for the people of Japan and their beliefs they were a respected family.

Kyo's honesty and non-judgmental disposition caused people to love the young man, not that he knew this; he just thought they were being nice.

Maria came down about twenty minutes later and Kyo fixed her hair in a headband. They ate breakfast, and Kyo relaxed, looking forward to spending the day with his daughter.

--

Around ten that night, after tucking Maria into bed, meditating, showering, and getting ready for bed, Kyo felt a wave of apprehension wash over him.

He frowned slightly. Why was he worried? He'd been fighting off the anxious feeling since breakfast that morning. What the hell was going on?

He didn't understand it, but tried his best to shrug it off and put it to the back of his mind. As he lay back under the covers, he couldn't help but get the feeling that his life was going to change even more than it did at first.

As he fell asleep, Kyo had no idea how right he was.

--

Pain.

Anger.

Misery.

Fury.

Agony, and then…

Darkness.

This was the way her days went by.

Aqua eyes filled with tears of both rage and sorrow at the injustice of her life…her torture. The things they did to her… She closed her eyes in a desperate attempt not to cry.

Pain.

Anger.

Misery.

Fury.

Agony, and then…

Darkness.

A repeated cycle; seconds, minutes, hours, and days all blended together, until all she was aware of was the pain and her anger, and the sweet freedom that came with darkness.

The stone cold floor beneath her nude body made her shiver. Her lungs clinched painfully from all of her earlier screaming, and they hurt worse as she wheezed trying to desperately get some air.

Even though she was so hurt, so broken, she couldn't give up hope. It was all she had left.

"Clara, don't give up, not yet." she whispered to herself.

The only thing keeping her together was the thought of one person…the one person who had befriended her, who truly cared about how she felt, her only friend and she hadn't seen him in years.

She was so close, yet so far away.

Clara had made it to Tokyo to find him, and she refused to die here in this place, without seeing him again.

"_Kyo_…" cried Clara hoarsely, and she gasped at the sound of the metal latch on the door lifting.

"No." she pleaded helplessly as the door began opening.

Her eyes watered as she heard the raucous sounds of the drunken men coming in for a 'celebration'.

"_Kyo_…" she whispered again as she turned away, unable to watch them enter the room.

"_For you…Kyo…I live for you..._" she sobbed silently and helplessly as she felt the men's leering gazes on her naked body.

'_**Let the torture begin.**_' she thought resignedly, as a man knelt down over her, and touched her, leeringly. "It's my turn," said the drunk man in a heavy voice as he crawled on top of her.

She fought desperately, but her chains held her spread eagle on the stone floor. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt him position himself.

"Please, no!" she cried weakly. '_**Hadn't they had enough? Not this!! Please not this again!!'**_ she screamed mentally.

Clara was gasping for air as she tried to fight the man off, but he paid no heed to her pleas as he roughly entered her. He moaned, and Clara screamed.

About twenty miles away, Kyo Takayume sat up with rage-filled eyes and an aura of energy pulsing around him.

"_Clara…I'll save you…"_

* * *

_REVIEW!_


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: On First Chapter.

* * *

Chapter Four

_**Past Time: A Nightmarish Return**_

_June 5, 1997 _

Yusuke Urameshi is notorious for his sarcasm and the typical bad-boy reputation of his. Kuzuma Kuwabara is known for his loyalty to friends and his stupidity. Kurama is known for his intelligence and cunning, and Hiei is known for his permanent bad mood and speed, but Kyomari Takayume was known for his ruthlessness in battle, but the one thing that is phenomenal about Kyo is his temper. Yusuke has a bad temper, but Kyo when angry…well…let's just say poor Yusuke doesn't hold a candle to Kyo's anger.

And this morning, Kyo was pissed as hell.

He was in a fit of rage for two reasons. Number one, he knew for a fact that he'd awoken enraged about some kind of dream he'd had, and the second reason was the fact that he couldn't remember what the hell it was about, and that just made him even angrier.

His temper was like mixing fire and gasoline, and that equals an inferno. The amount of power he had was like the fire part of the equation, and when sparked by gasoline, you can get your ass lit on fire if you come too close.

He rolled out of bed with a dark look in his eyes and stalked furiously to the bathroom, and as he slammed the door shut behind him making cracks in the sheetrock of the wall, he prayed that his whole day wouldn't be rotten, because of a bad morning.

--

Clara whimpered from pain as she moved slightly. She was so sore. Her heart thudded in her chest as she desperately tried to take in more air, but it wasn't working too well.

She knew that she couldn't take much more of this torment anymore. Her body was failing her, and all she had left was her hope and even that was beginning to wear thin.

"I'll never make it out of here alive." she whispered despairingly as she shifted her head to stare around her prison.

She sobbed, and the force made her inhale sharply which only made her cry harder from the pain. She was so tired of fighting in vain…and for the first time she allowed her self to go blank.

The men walked into the room soon after with large whips in hand, expecting to see a crying Clara, but that's not what they found.

Instead of seeing teary eyes and a fiery glare, they were met with a frosty aqua gaze that made her seem lethal and otherworldly.

They didn't know it, but soon their judgment day would come.

--

Thousands of miles away, in the highest tower of a stone castle, an old headmaster was lost deep in his musings as he sucked on a lemon drop.

The many thoughts swirling around Albus Dumbledore's mind at the moment were focused on one person, Kyomari Takayume. Albus figured that if he couldn't have Harry, he'd take the next most powerful candidate under his wing.

_**But how would he manipulate someone so mysterious?**_ He thought to himself with a deep frown. To him, Kyo seemed to be incredibly cold-hearted and truthfully, he didn't know what to think of him.

With a sigh, Dumbledore conceded with the next course of action. He picked up a quill and dipped it into a fresh inkpot as he unfolded a new role of parchment.

He scratched off a letter to Koenma, telling him that he would give Kyomari the teaching post of Defense Against the Dark Arts if Kyo would agree to meet him sometime in the next two months for an interview.

He signed at the bottom in his loopy print and rolled it up. As he called Fawkes to him, he frowned once more as he picked up another worry. _**Is Kyo Light or Dark? **_

He smiled at the soft crooning of his phoenix as he watched his beloved friend disappear in a ball of flames.

Dumbledore glanced out of his tower window towards the grounds with a troubled look on his aged face. He sighed again, before grabbing another lemon drop and popping it into his mouth.

--

On the east coast of Australia, inside of an abandoned manor was a tall, thin, and scaly looking man with glowing red eyes.

He sat upon his throne as he glared maliciously at the wall, not even looking at the cowering form of Peter Pettigrew in front of him.

"You've come before me once again with no news of the insolent boy, Pettigrew?" hissed Voldemort.

The rat animagus' eyes widened and he whimpered, before pathetically saying, "Yes, milord."

The red eyes narrowed, and he raised his wand causing Pettigrew to squeak in fear. Voldemort looked enraged, and he dropped his hand. "I suggest you remove your worthless hide from my range of vision or I will kill you." hissed the man threateningly.

"Yes, milord." squeaked Pettigrew, before he scuttled from the room. Voldemort sighed in aggravation. The only reason he kept the weak rat alive was because of his loyalty, but even that was wearing thin.

The fact that they'd been searching for the Potter boy for years now and had found nothing about his whereabouts troubled him. Not that he would ever admit it, but this boy was more than likely to prove himself as a dangerous enemy if they didn't find him soon.

"Roswell!" he yelled angrily as he touched his wand to the dark mark, and almost instantly there was a loud crack, and then a man came running into the room.

The wiry form of Otto Roswell fell to his knees before him, and kissed the hem of his robes. Voldemort sneered at the man.

"Your report." he hissed.

"Yes, milord. The girl we have in our estate, Clara Onresia, I believe keeps crying about someone named Kyo. Now, even after almost two months of torture she is holding strong. But…" Otto trailed off as Voldemort waved his hand.

"Yes, yes, I have been hearing of this Kyo person for awhile now. Roswell find out as much as you can about this Kyo from the girl, and after that kill her. We will have no need for her anymore."

"Yes, milord." replied Otto as he bowed low.

Voldemort waved him away, and Otto left the room quickly. Absentmindedly, he twirled his wand between his long, thin, and webbing fingers, as he got lost in his troubled thoughts once more.

--

For the next two days, while Kyo knew nothing but anxiety and anger, Clara was lost in a haze of pain.

Before she thought she knew all the pains of torture, but _this _was plain hell.

At first glance, she thought that the men had gotten stuck on stupid when they came in waving around sticks of wood, but then they….

Clara inwardly shuddered as she remembered.

"_Well, well, well, if it isn't Little Miss Clara Onresia." sneered the leader of this whole outfit, Otto Roswell as he walked towards her._

_She just stared at him blankly, not reacting at all._

_He stopped in front of her and crouched down to her level with a malicious smirk on his face._

"_You know what I want from you, Clara?" he asked slowly, as if talking to someone stupid._

_Clara fumed inwardly at the veiled insult to her intelligence, but outwardly her expression remained blank._

"_I want you to tell me all about this Kyo." he said quietly as he ran a calloused finger across her cheek and jaw line._

_Clara froze at his mention of Kyo, and her blank eyes came alive. They burned with fury._

_Roswell smirked at the heated glare he was receiving. _

"_Do you want to know why I want to know about this Kyo?" he asked sneeringly, before leaning down to whisper in her ear._

"_So my master can kill him."_

_Something clicked inside her, and she felt her anger explode. "I'll never tell a sniveling, unworthy, pedophile like you anything about Kyo." she hissed._

"_You want to know why, Roswell?" she asked mockingly._

"_Because you're not worth shit, and the ground Kyo walks on is and will always be worth more than your sorry ass." she spat balefully, her aqua eyes alight with anger._

_Roswell swelled with anger at her mocking and insults, his face turning a deep purple color. He pulled her up by her hair, and backhanded her across the face._

"_Maybe before the boy, I'll take you to my master to be dealt with. You wouldn't be such a bitch after that, would you?" snarled Roswell._

_Clara glared up at him. "If your oh-so-mighty master is so great, how come he has a withering little wimp like you working for him? Maybe your master is just like you are. A shriveling rat that hides behind his subjects and uses lies and deceit to get any kind of power." retorted Clara vehemently._

_He slapped her across the other side of her face, and Clara's head whipped sideways. _

_**Don't cry, Clara. Be strong. Don't let them see you weak.**__ She thought to herself desperately as she tried to ignore the throbbing of her face and the stinging of her eyes._

_She turned back towards him, and whispered dangerously, "You sadistic bastard."_

_Roswell growled and lifted his 'stick', before shouting, "CRUCIO!"_

_And Clara knew nothing but agony._

Clara was pulled from her thoughts by the opening of the doors, and the men came inside with 'sticks' in hand.

"Are you ready to talk?" sneered Roswell, and Clara glared at him.

"I'll take that as a no. Fine, then, guys tie her up and give her a portkey to the forest a couple of miles outside of Tokyo." he instructed, before turning back towards her.

"We'll teach you to respect your superiors, and it will be one well learned." he told her with an evil glint in his murky brown eyes.

Clara looked at him wide-eyed, and gulped in fear as the men bound her wrists and thrust something into her hands.

Then she felt a strong uncomfortable tug at her navel and was lost in a swirl of colors.

--

Kyo awoke and looked at his alarm clock, blearily. When he read 6:36 A.M, he cursed loudly and flew out of bed.

Wondering about why the hell, he'd overslept so late.

He shook his head. There was no way he could think about this now he had training to do!

--

Clara landed on hard grass-covered land with a thud, and noticed that she was the only one here.

_**Must have thought that I couldn't get away, because I'm so weak. **_She thought angrily, as she desperately tried to loosen her ropes

Clara was breathing hard, after a second, but she couldn't give up yet, so with a determined expression she began wriggling her small hands through the loops.

Five minutes later, she was free, but her wrists and hands were bloody, bruised, and rope burned.

Clara stood on shaky legs and the world tilted.

She collapsed onto the ground with a groan, but stood up again. She walked shakily, and she knew that the only reason she was moving at all was because of her will to do so.

Clara froze as she heard the arguing voices of the men as they traipsed through the trees.

"Meandering idiot…Why the hell did you not make the portkey locations identical?" roared Roswell.

"I'm sorry, alright! Let's just get to the girl. I need to let off some steam," replied one of the men.

Clara looked up horrified, and her adrenaline kicked in as she began to trot quickly through the forest.

She was far enough away to hear their curses as they found the ropes with no girl attached.

"FIND HER, YOU IMBECILES!" roared Otto. There was the loud sound of men running through the trees and Clara forced herself to go faster.

Branches and sharp nettles scratched her all over, but she kept running.

"THERE SHE IS!" shouted one.

Clara ran faster, as the pounding of feet came towards her.

"STUPEFY!!"

"IMPENDIENTA!!"

"REDUCTO!!"

Different spells shot towards her in every direction, and she screamed. Clara ducked and weaved through the trees as fast as she could.

She could faintly see a clearing ahead, and was relieved to see the cabin.

A streak of red hit the tree beside her, causing it to splinter. She cried out in agony as shards of bark got imbedded along her right side, but she still ran on.

She was so close.

Clara burst through the trees of the forest line, and was running towards the cabin, when her foot got caught under a visible tree root.

She flipped forward, and screamed, "HELP ME!" before she hit the ground.

Black spots danced before her eyes, and she was shocked to see a face appear before her.

The very same face she'd been dreaming about for almost nine years; the same face that gave her hope in the time of failure. It was the same face that got her here alive.

"Are you alright?" he asked concernedly.

"Kyo." she whispered, before darkness filled her vision, and she lost consciousness.

--

Kyo had just arrived at his clearing when there was the sound of a girl screaming, and people running after her.

He turned just in time to see a girl about his age burst through the trees and run towards his cabin. He stared at her in shock as she flipped over a tree root, and screamed, "HELP ME!!"

Kyo bolted to her side, and leaned over her.

She stared at him as though she'd seen a ghost.

"Are you alright?" he asked stupidly, before mentally berating himself as he could clearly see that she was anything, but all right.

"Kyo." she whispered, before she passed out.

He stared at the girl in shock, before he felt a tremor run through him.

The dream that he'd had of her hit him hard, and it felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured on him. He froze as he stared at the girl, his long lost friend before him in horror.

"Clara." he whispered, painfully.

He surveyed the beaten, bruised, and broken body of his first friend, and his anger swelled. Fury like no other filled him, and his magic strained against his confines.

He didn't turn as the sound of running reached his ears, nor did he move when the thirty or so men of the entire outfit burst into the clearing. "Hand over the girl, and we won't hurt you kid," yelled one of them.

Kyo's blood boiled, and he stood silently, his back facing them.

He raised his hands and two broadswords made of pure obsidian for the blade appeared, and each had a sharpening charm on them. On the blade was his name in steel lettering.

Each hilt was carved finely, and made out of metal.

"You made a mistake when you touched Clara, and now you will pay." hissed Kyo in a deadly tone. Every one of them paled, as Kyo let his fury take control and a swirling aura appeared. His green eyes were glowing an unearthly green as he stared at each man and shifted into a fighting stance.

"Today, you will die, and in your last moments, you shall know exactly what true power is." And before any could say anything, Kyo had moved.

For the next three hours, only the terror-filled screams and painful shrieks of men were heard as Kyo ruthlessly slaughtered them all.

Otto Roswell stood shaking as Kyo held him at sword point. "Whom do you work for, you slimy bastard?" he demanded furiously.

"Lord V-Vol-oldemo-rt-t." he stuttered. Kyo smiled at him coldly, before swinging his sword and slicing the fool's head off. He looked around at the bloodied field, and said, "Master Takayume, forgive me for violating this sacred land."

Kyo relaxed, before pulling out his cell phone and dialing. Yusuke answered grumpily. "This better be good cause I do not wake up before eight for nothing."

"Take Maria over to Genkai's, Yusuke. Tell her that I left for work late and couldn't be home in time to say goodbye." he said seriously.

Yusuke sobered. "What's wrong, Kyo?" he asked.

"No matter right now. Just do what I say, and be quick about it," ordered Kyo.

"Fine." snapped Yusuke, before hanging up. Kyomari sighed and waved a hand, instantly causing the blood and bodies to disappear.

He turned and walked towards the unconscious form of Clara.

--

Inside of a small room, lay a young girl just now stirring from her deep sleep. Her features, instead of bruised and cut, were now elegantly smooth and unscarred despite the torture she'd gone through.

Her pale skin glowed in the soft lighting of the lamps on the oak beside table, and she moved restlessly in her bed.

Slowly, her pale lids shift and her mesmerizing aqua eyes appear, looking dazed. Clara glanced at the ceiling with a painted on mural of a shimmering milky way, and then blinked in confusion.

_Where am I?_ She thought as she sat up.

That was when she felt it, she felt safe, and protected, but she had no idea as to where she was.

Then as if lightning struck she remembered everything that had happened, and Clara gasped in horror. Her head snapped towards the doors when she heard the tale-tell click of a door being opened.

Her aqua eyes went wide, and she inhaled sharply at the sight of the gorgeous figure of Kyomari as he walked into the room wearing a simple thin white tee and black basketball shorts.

Kyo's head snapped towards her, and his emerald eyes stared at her in shock.

Clara's deep honey colored hair was a tangled mess, but she was still beautiful with the soft pink lips and aqua eyes that stared at him in awe, and joyfulness.

Slightly bemused as to what he should do, Kyo stared at Clara for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

"Erm…maybe you should go and shower, Clara. Not that you smell bad or anything, it's just cleaning charms don't do their magic…err…_everywhere_…if you catch my drift." he said awkwardly.

Clara looked shocked, and then she grimaced a bit as she realized it was true.

Blushing, she replied, "Erm…yeah…I think I'll go do that now." before sliding off the bed.

She bolted across the hardwood floor until she reached the lavatory door. Clara stopped with her hand on the doorknob, and shyly peeked over her shoulder to where Kyo stood watching her.

Clara's cheeks flared red when her eyes met his and she scuttled into the bathroom, hurriedly.

Kyo stared at the door where the girl had been only moments before.

Sighing, Kyo turned and trudged back downstairs towards his faithful lazy-boy recliner. He slouched into his comfy seat, and stared at the crackling fireplace as he thought back to the first time he'd met Clara Onresia.

_Seven-year old, Kyomari sat with his back against the tree, reading peacefully when he thought he heard the sound of someone crying._

_Kyo looked around for the source of the noise but he couldn't see anything. Curiously, he marked his page and sat the book down on the trunk of the tree gently, before wondering towards the sound._

_He followed the cries as they gradually got louder, indicating that he was getting closer to his destination. He walked through a rather thick bush, only to see a large group of kids teasing a small girl who had tears running down her face._

_Kyo's temper flared, and his small form shook with fury. How he hated bullies. _

_Furiously, Kyo marched over and stood determinedly in front of the sobbing girl and glared at the brats fiercely._

"_What do you think you're doing? No one asked you to come over here." sneered one of the snotty nosed little brats._

_Kyo's eyes narrowed and he hissed, "Then make me leave."_

"_We will, shrimp." interjected another kid who was larger than him._

"_I dare you to even try and touch me, fatso. Didn't your mummy teach you anything besides bullying?!" he stated furiously, and his made his eyes glow._

_The kid sputtered angrily, but when Kyo's glowing eyes flashed, he beat a hasty retreat._

_All of them scampered away quickly, after having his heated glare leveled at them all._

_Kyo huffed disapprovingly as the cowards ran off._

"_You little chickens!! That's right I could fry you featherless bird-brains any day of the week." he yelled after them._

_Kyo turned to see if the girl was alright, but all he saw was a small girl launch herself into his arms and bury her face into his chest, sobbing loudly and harder than before._

A smile appeared on his face, but he frowned slightly as he remembered the reason why Clara had been teased.

_As they sat near the tree, Kyo looked over at the unsure figure of the little girl beside him as he picked up his book again._

"_So, why were they teasing you?" he asked softly._

_Clara glanced at him shyly, before answering honestly, "Well, I'm quarter-elf and that makes my magic unstable because of the human blood in my veins. So I randomly switch from my human form, to my Elven form during the day. I have no control over it."_

_Clara sat stiffly, obviously waiting for his reaction to the news._

_Kyo shrugged indifferently, and said, "Heh. Doesn't bother me much."_

_Clara watched him open his book and begin reading, for a moment in shock._

_Then, a beaming smile stretched across her face and blushing furiously she leaned over and plants a kiss on Kyo's right cheek._

_Kyo stared at her, flabbergasted as she stood swiftly._

_Clara turned to run away, but then she hesitated. "Erm…what's your name?"_

"_Kyomari Takayume," he answered absentmindedly still quite dazed and confused by the kiss._

"_I'm Clara Onresia. It was nice meeting you, Kyo." Then with a bright smile, Clara skipped away, leaving a bemused Kyo behind._

Still frowning, Kyo sighed at the idiocy of some people. Even after all these years, he never could understand why people were so narrow-minded and judgmental.

_Just because someone is different than you are, doesn't mean that it's wrong to be that way. _He thought fiercely.

Kyo hated the fact that people didn't try to find the good in someone before judging them. In his eyes, Clara was one of the most amazing, beautiful, and hilarious people he'd ever met.

After that day in the park, Kyo and Clara had become the best of friends. Always playing pranks on people. A wide smile stretched across his face as he remembered one prank in particular that he'd never forget.

_Emerald green eyes sparkling with mischief scanned the area near the window of his home quickly, before ducking behind the bush. A soft rustle of leaves came from above, and a small head of deep honey- colored hair popped through the small branches._

_Her aqua eyes were narrowed with caution, and she made sure the coast was clear before diving out of the tree, doing a roll mid-air and landed gracefully on her feet without a sound._

_She dropped down onto her softly tanned hands and knees, before scuttling across the grass to the very same bush, her best friend was hiding behind. _

_They both checked to make sure they were alone, and out of sight, before the young girl spoke._

"_Are all systems a go, Cadet Clara?" asked the boy quietly, but with authority._

"_All set, Commander Kyo," replied the girl with a salute._

_Kyo nodded his affirmation, and Clara blushed pink as his black hair fell over his eyes and he peered at her in question._

"_Why are you blushing?" he asked clueless. Clara shook her head, and Kyo shrugged._

"_Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five..." They both started counting, their eyes locked on each other's, until Kyo turned and peeked over the edge of the bush._

_The corners of Clara's lips tugged downward for a second, before she joined him in looking over the bush._

"…_Four…three…two…one…" There was a loud popping sound from inside the house, and Kyo smirked at his mother's loud gasp that came from the open window._

_Clara and Kyo glanced at each other, both their eyes twinkling with mischief as they heard a loud howl of laughter come from inside._

_An indignant squawk from the house, made both Kyo and Clara collapse in laughter. There was another loud popping noise, and the scuttling of feet was heard as well._

_Marima was sputtering furiously with laughter, and Kyo and Clara were practically crying tears of amusement as they heard the pathetic whimper from the house._

_There was a third popping sound and then a loud bellow, "KYOMARI TAKAYUME!! AND CLARA ONRESIA!! YOUR LITTLE BUTTS ARE MINE!!"_

_The two abruptly stopped laughing, and they looked at each other in horror as they heard the front door slam open._

_Without looking back, the two bolted._

Kyo was chuckling softly at the thought of that day. They had turned his father into two of the animals he hated most; a chicken, and a Billy goat.

That day had been full of happiness and laughter, that day was the morning before his mom left. That was the morning, before Clara was taken away from him. That was the last day he ever had with the people that mattered most to him. That was the day before his heaven, turned into his hell.

Kyo raised a shaking hand to his face and bit hard onto his fist, trying to stop his tears.

Saddened eyes watched him from the doorway of the room as he let out a strangled laugh through his tears.

Unable to stand there and watch him in pain, she opened her mouth.

"Kyo…" she called hesitantly. Kyo's body tensed and he looked over at her sharply.

He relaxed when he saw her standing there nervously, the emotions she'd hidden for so long bubbling beneath the surface.

"Hello Clara." he whispered gently, and with care.

Clara's eyes slid closed in despair, and let herself be pulled into her most treasured memory of the past.

_Narrowed eyes scanned the trees for the bandit she __**knew**__ was there. Her small hands were fisted tightly as she looked around desperately for the criminal._

"_Stupid squirrel! How dare that little fur ball steal my hair bow!" she muttered indignantly under her breath as she stalked past shrubs and brushes._

**That was my favorite hair bow!** _The girl thought irately as she glanced around furiously, looking for the culprit._

_Clara was thinking about how she could fry up the squirrel for breakfast, or maybe make a pretty hat to wear, when she heard it._

_There was the sound of rustling trees and childish laughter. _

_Her aqua eyes widened and she gasped softly, knowing that she was in her Elven form. If those kids saw her like this she would be teased, and this time her special hair bow was gone._

_Clara turned to scamper away, but a grubby hand grabbed her ponytail and roughly yanked her backwards._

_She cried out in pain as she fell backwards and rolled out of the bush, her elbows being scrapped by sticks and her dress got stained with dirt._

_Tears sprung to her eyes as the mean kids surrounded her._

**Why can't they just leave me alone?** _She thought despairingly._

"_Look it's the elf,." sneered a fat boy._

"_Yeah, an ugly one too." simpered a pimply girl who smiled evilly at Clara._

_She whimpered and shut her eyes._

**Why? Why can't I just be normal? I want friends, too.**

_Clara started sobbing as they continued insulting her. She curled up in a ball on the ground, not caring about her dress or her cuts._

**What have I ever done to them? Why do they have to be so mean?**

_Clara sobbed harder. She was alone. She had no one, really. The only person that ever cared had been her father, and he too had left her here; with no one to turn, too._

_She was lost in her pain, but she still heard angry footsteps that stopped in front of her._

"_What do you think you're doing? No one asked you to come over here," sneered one of the kids._

_A voice she didn't know hissed venomously, "Then make me leave."_

_Clara glanced up in shock. _

**Was this person defending her?**

"_We will, shrimp." interjected another kid._

"_I dare you to even try and touch me, fatso. Didn't your mummy teach you anything besides bullying?" he stated, anger evident._

_Clara gasped in surprise. _

**He was protecting her!**

_The kid sputtered angrily, but the boy did something that made them all flee in fear._

_He huffed disapprovingly as they ran off._

"_You little chickens!! That's right I could fry you featherless bird-brains any day of the week." he yelled after them._

_Tears rolled down her cheeks. Clara was so relieved._

_He turned to her, and without thinking she launched herself into his arms, sobbing gratefully._

_As they sat near the tree, he looked over at the unsure figure of the little girl beside him as he picked up his book again._

"_So, why were they teasing you?" he asked softly._

_Clara glanced at him shyly, before answering honestly, "Well, I'm quarter-elf and that makes my magic unstable because of the human blood in my veins. So I randomly switch from my human form, to my Elven form during the day. I have no control over it."_

_Clara sat stiffly, obviously waiting for his reaction to the news._

**He's going to run away, and leave me all alone again. I know it**_. She thought sadly._

_Kyo shrugged indifferently, and said, "Heh. Doesn't bother me much."_

**WHAT?**

_Clara watched him open his book and begin reading, for a moment in shock._

_Then, a beaming smile stretched across her face and blushing furiously she leaned over and planted a kiss on Kyo's right cheek._

_Kyo stared at her, flabbergasted as she stood swiftly._

_Clara turned to run away, but then she hesitated. "Erm…what's your name?"_

"_Kyomari Takayume," he answered absentmindedly still looking quite dazed and confused by the kiss._

"_I'm Clara Onresia. It was nice meeting you, Kyo." Then with a bright smile, Clara skipped away, leaving a bemused Kyo behind._

**I HAVE A FRIEND!!**_ She thought, while squealing loudly._

Clara opened her watery eyes, and he was so close to her. Not more than three feet away.

"Oh, Kyo…Why? WHY? Why me?" she whispered, her aqua eyes haunted.

"I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!! WHY? WHY DID THEY DO THIS TO ME? KYO!! PLEASE!! WHAT DO I HAVE TO LIVE FOR ANYMORE? I HAVE NO ONE!! THEY TOOK AWAY THE LAST THING I HAD…" Clara screamed as she slid to the floor, her legs not having the strength to hold her up anymore.

"They took my innocence, Kyo," she whispered softly.

"I have nothing," she cried, as her eyes watered.

"No home, no family, my virginity stolen, and my heart stomped on. What do I have left to live for?" she whispered. Kyo felt his heartbreaking for the girl who'd once been his best friend.

That fire that had been in her eyes for so long had dimmed, and the once-beautiful aqua orbs showed nothing but a broken soul and a shattered spirit.

Clara had lived through hell and high waters. She'd been troubled and tormented her entire life, if not by her mother, then by peers. Her dreams had been such a large part of her life, and they'd been crushed.

His Clara wasn't there right now, and all that lay in front of him was the shell of a girl, who was locked inside herself.

Kyo knelt down in front of her, and her blank darkened eyes stared at him clouded with so much pain that he flinched.

"For so long, I'd thought that I could fight through everything and still be the same. But my most precious treasure has been taken away. My mother deserted me for a man." she said her lips trembling.

"Just left me one night, despite me screaming and crying and literally begging for her to take me with her. My father perished in battle, after promising me to return. I was teased for my uncontrolled appearance, and abused in homes for not being in control. Then, the last thing I had was taken. It was all I had left, Kyo. The only thing." she choked out, and Kyo felt his eyes fill with tears as her shaking hand covered her mouth.

"_**No!! PLEASE, NO!! IT'S ALL I HAVE!! NO!!" **_

Tears fell from her eyes as her own screams played through her mind.

_**His sadistic smile as he brutally entered her, completely enjoying her agonized screams as he tore through her maidenhead.**_

Clara began gasping for air and emotions that had been piling under the surface began to bubble making her tremble.

_**His moans as she screamed and writhed beneath him, begging him to stop. He just went faster and harder than before.**_

"No! No, please! Stop!" she gasped as she grabbed her head.

_**His rough hands as he gripped her hips and grinded into her harder than before, and quickened his pace. His face alight with pleasure as she screamed and cried asking him to stop.**_

"NO!!" Clara screamed.

_**The throaty yell he released as he orgasmed inside her, but he didn't stop, he kept going even more vicious than before.**_

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she got flashes of another man entering unclothed.

_**The second man replacing the first and ruthlessly tearing into her.**_

Clara screamed and collapsed into Kyo's strong embrace sobbing out years and years of pain, but days of being raped and tormented.

Kyo let his own silent tears fall as the sound of Clara's agonized cries filled the room, and he knew then, that he would protect this girl for the rest of his life.

And his safety be damned, Voldemort was going to pay.

And he would pay dearly.

--

The soft crackling of the flames that burned leisurely in the stone fireplace was the only audible sound in the room, besides the soft breathing of a young woman, who lay curled up in the arms of a well-toned man named Kyo.

Green eyes clouded with fury, and sadness gazed down at the sleeping figure. Her face was streaked with tearstains; her cheeks slightly pink offsetting the normally smooth tanned skin of her body. Behind closed eyelids her eyes moved restlessly and he could tell that she was trapped within the throes of another nightmare. He shifted his gaze from her sleeping form and sighed forlornly, knowing it would be a long time before she would stop being haunted of events past.

Gently, Kyo curled her body closer to his own, letting his hand slide through her silky blonde hair for just a moment, before he stood, being careful not to disturb her sleep with jerky movements.

Glancing at her once again, he walked lightly towards the stairs, ready to place her in her bed. Traipsing carefully up the hallway he used a bit of wand less, non-verbal magic to open the door to the guest room, where he walked gracefully towards the bed, not making a sound, as though he was seamlessly carrying the small girl in his arms, which he was.

Quietly he dimmed the lighting in the room to a very soft glow that brought out tints of gold in the girl's hair as he pulled back the covers, and laid her in bed. She whimpered slightly and curled into the warmth of the soft pillows and blankets as he covered her.

Leaning over he studied her closely, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead while whispering, "Goodnight, Clara."

He pulled back in time to see her eyes flicker open slightly, and she stared at him sleepily. Kyo felt his heart contract at the pure gratefulness and exhaustion he saw in her turquoise orbs, that glimmered in the soft lighting like gemstones.

"Thanks…Kyo…" she mumbled with a tired smile, before her eyes fell closed again, and she collapsed in a peaceful sleep. He stood there studying her sleeping form for a moment, before he hesitantly leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers fleetingly.

"Don't thank me yet, Clara." he whispered his voice soft as he stood erect once again, and walked from the room, closing the door silently behind him, never seeing the soft smile that spread across Clara's face.

--

Staying with Yusuke was something this little girl both loved and hated doing. He was a great 'uncle' to her. Playful, protective, and was really funny to watch and she loved him for it, but what she hated was that she was away from her daddy.

He always seemed so quiet and reserved whenever he was alone. It was as though he had so much to think about all the time, and she hated seeing her daddy like that. Kyo belonged to her, and no one else, and she would protect her daddy from anyone else.

But there were also times when she needed her daddy, and only her daddy. He was the one who had saved her from the bad men, and he was the one who rescued her from her nightmares whenever she had them.

She loved him more than anything, and right now was one of those times, when she needed her daddy, and only her daddy.

_His eyes were cold. "I can't take care of you anymore. So you have to leave."_

_F whimpered. "But…you said you loved me…?" she cried reaching out for him. He pushed her away violently. "You're a brat, and a pain to take care of. I have someone else now. Someone I like and want to be around." Kyo sneered, and Maria wailed._

"_Daddy!" she screamed, but he growled and picked her up by her hair, and threw her harshly from the house. "GET OUT AND DON'T COME BACK!"_

The young child sat up screaming and crying. "DADDY!" she yelled her voice breaking as she fought against the sheets that entwined her in them. Maria continued screaming, even though she heard the distinct thump of someone falling, and the door to her room was slammed open as a dazed Yusuke stumbled in blindly.

"GEROFF HER YOU COCKYMAMI BASTARDS!" he yelled stupidly as he rushed in tripping over his own two feet in a half-hearted fighting stance. "GETOUTERHERE…or I kick all your asses…"

Usually seeing Yusuke make an idiot of him self would have made the child giggle, but now it only cemented the fear that Kyo had left her for someone else.

Yusuke snapped out of his half-asleep trance as Maria's tearful cries finally registered in his mind. "DADDY! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

His eyes widened and he paled saying the only thing that summed up the situation perfectly. "Holy _shit_…"

--

In the lands of Scotland where a gorgeous sentinel castle stood was a man who went by the name of Albus Dumbledore. He sat behind a mahogany desk in a circular office surrounded by whirring and whizzing of various magical devices and gadgets.

Currently the man was sitting thrumming his long fingers upon the desk top, his eyes twitching with impatient exasperation. Glancing towards the clock, he sighed in frustration, completely irritated that Koenma, the Prince of Spirit World had yet to answer his letter.

"Merlin, you would think I asked him to supply me with a million galleons…" The wizened old wizard stated in irritation, his eyes crossing slightly with agitation.

Feeling grumpy he snatched a lemon drop from the glass bowl that sat atop his desk and sucked on it slowly, trying to calm himself.

As soon as the sourly sweet candy was swallowed he had begun reaching for another when the sound of flapping wings caught his attention. His head swiveled and he almost went bug-eyed at the sight of a messenger owl soaring into his tower window.

The owl landed on his desk and seemed to eye him disdainfully as it positioned its beak in the air with a pompous air. Dumbledore blinked at the actions of the owl, before he reached over and untied the letter.

Once its package was unattached the bird squawked at him and took off through the window.

Dumbledore's beard twitched slightly and he scowled after the owl. "Ungrateful bird..." he mumbled under his breath, before eagerly opening the letter.

_Headmaster Dumbledore,_

_I have decided to cooperate with you. Your Defense against the Dark Arts teacher will be arriving two weeks before the start of term. He will be informed of his new position as professor, but I warn you to not try to take advantage of him. He does NOT take well to manipulation Mr. Dumbledore. I have made preparations by having him a home ready to be lived in OFF school grounds. I will let you and him work out the rest. Good luck to you, and I bid you well. _

_Lord Koenma of Spirit World_

Dumbledore stared blankly at the letter, and he read it again, feeling slightly insulted, but at the same time he had gotten what he wanted. The man stood and let out an undignified whoop of joy, before clearing his throat and sitting down again.

Oh yes, things were definitely looking up for Albus Dumbledore or so he thought.

--

Yusuke Urameshi was sarcastic, rude, and extremely strong for the normally idiotic half-wit he tended to be, but right now his bad ass attitude was pretty much left in the dust as he sprinted down darkened roads, in his arms a sobbing child still crying for her daddy.

"Shit…shit…shit…fuck…shit…" He continued his mantra of curse words as Maria shook violently in his arms. He knew he had to get her to Kyomari before she went into hysteria-induced shock, though how he knew, even he couldn't imagine.

All Yusuke knew was that she needed Kyo, and he was the only one to get her there.

"Fuck…damn…shit…fuck…FUCK!" he screamed as he skidded around a corner, and his eyes widened as he caught sight of Kyo's apartment building. Moving faster as Maria started gasping in his arms, he risked a glance down at her face, which was the only thing he could see from beneath the blankets. He paled at the sight of her white face, and her lips taking on a blue tint.

"FUCK!" he yelled and picked up the pace as he raced up the stairs, taking two at a time.

He glanced at the locked door and down at the girl who was shaking like crazy and said, "Fuck it!" Before he balled his hand into the shape of a gun, feeling the warmth build rapidly. "SPIRIT GUN!" The blue ball of power shot from his fingertips and straight through the door, which was obliterated.

"KYO!" yelled Yusuke in a blind panic. "KYO! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS DOWN HERE!" he hissed loudly, and there was a bright flash, before Kyo appeared his wand drawn, and his eyes cold. He stood in a tensed fighting stance, and Maria happened to look up at that moment.

"NOOOOOOOO!!" she screamed, her voice heartbroken and she started sobbing so hard she was choking.

Kyo's face paled and he dropped the defensive posture and hurried over to the hysterical child. "Mari…." he whispered, but the little girl's eyes were fixated over his shoulder towards the stairs.

Yusuke's eyes were as big as saucers, and Kyo slowly turned to see what his daughter was looking at.

There stood Clara, her blonde hair disheveled, and her face tired and pale. She wore a pair of pajamas that consisted of Kyo's clothes, but Maria was sitting frozen in Yusuke's arms, her face too pale to be healthy.

"No…." she cried suddenly, and Kyo rushed forward, grabbing her out of Yusuke's arms and pulling the child close. "I'M SORRY!" she sobbed into his chest, her small hands clutching the fabric of his t-shirt.

"DON'T THROW ME OUT DADDY! I PROMISE I'LL BE GOOD!" she screamed through tears, holding Kyo in a death grip. Kyo rubbed his daughter's back and sat down with her in his arms.

He was so focused on Maria that he didn't notice the instant paleness of Clara's face as she heard the word Daddy come from the small child sitting on his lap.

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